SC Leaders Say Payment to Attorneys is $50M

May 24, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - South Carolina
state leaders say lawyers representing retirees who sued the
state over contributions required for the Teacher and
Employee Retention Incentive (TERI) program are trying to
collect $50 million in fees.

The Associated Press reports that an attorney that
represented the state claims retirees’ attorneys are
asking for “40% of all contributions that have been made
and would have been made by all of the TERI
employees.”

Earlier in the month the South Carolina Supreme Court
ruled unanimously that the state wrongly forced thousands
of retirees who returned to work under the TERI program to
pay contributions toward their pensions.
The high court ordered the state to refund the
contributions, with interest, to employees who signed up
for the program before July 1, 2005 (See
SC High Court Orders Return of
Contributions to Reemployed Retirees).

A spokesman for the state Budget and Control Board
said the refund is estimated at $125 million, according
to the AP. However, one attorney for the retirees, Cam
Lewis, said the $125 million estimate is too high.“That’s the Retirement System and their scare
tactics. But if they want to give it to us, we’ll accept
it,” he said.